Grappling tool



May 29, 1923. 7 1,456,943

' R. E. SMITH v GRAPPLING TOOL Filedfldune 2, 1922 To allivhom it may concern;

a specification.

Patented May 29,

u ni 'rsin STATE-s5 RosERr ns vrItrH, or THERMO,POLIS,-.WYOMI1\T G.,

GRAPPLING TOOL.

'- Application fiied June 2,

Be it known that I, ROBERT snrrrr a citizen of'the United States, residing at- Thermopolis, inthe county of Hot Springs and State of Wyoming-have: invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Grappling Tools,- of' which the following 1S Thisinvention relates 'to. grappling tools designed more articularly for removing stuck or broken tools or other obstructingobjects from ,oil' wells-and it isthe object of the invention Y to provide 1 a tool of thiskindembodying certain novel and improved features of construction and modes of operation to behereinafter described in-detail:

' In orderthat' the invention may be-better understood,referenceis had to the a coompanying drawings,;wherein- Figure 1 is an elevation of the tool, partly in section ;v Fig- 2 is a longitudinal section of the tool showingthe gripping jawsclosed; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section on"the-line33 of Fig. 1 -and Figs-4 and l 5 are elevations ofjmodifiedkformsof jawmembers, partly in section.

Referringspecifica'lly to the drawing, the tool consists of a supporting-member and resilient jaws carried thereby,- said support ing member being slidableover' the jaws to close up the same on. the object to be gripped;

The supporting-member consistsof atubular, elongated body 10 open at the'bottom, and having at the top-'a solidfshank' 11 hav ing' a wrench surface 12, and a tapered screw-threaded stnd18 for connection-to the rod;stem or other means whereby the tool is lowered into the well and withdrawn therefrom. The body 10 has side slots lt. to provide hand' holes for access to the in teriOr or bore 15 of the body.

Near its lower end, thewall of the body 10 is thickened to produce an internalannular shoulder 16 which serves as'an abutment, for a purpose to be presently described. Below the shoulder 16, the body 10 has a downwardly tapered bore 17 terminating short of the bottom of the body, and below this bore,

to the bottom of the body, is a downwardly flared bore 18. The body 10 also has a slight taper upwardly from its'bottomto the shoulder below the wrench surface 12;

The bore 17 forms a socket having a downwardtaper in which seat gripping devices 19 commonly known in theart as slipsl 192a. Serial" No. 5 5,312;

series of four. slipsi is provided, .said' i'sli'ps On theiback 'of'each slip a. dbve ild g 20'whichzseatsinacorrespondinglyshaped. v vertical slot 21 in the wallof the-socket. Q

forming a-ring inside-thesocket: When' the:

slips godown, thisring contractsyand grips: theobject inside the-same, whereas a move-'5 ment of'the slips in the opposite direction causes the-ring to expand" and releasethe object, these...-actions being .due to the taper:-

of thesoc keta-v It will therefore he seenthat the greater the downwardtendency of'the object engaged by the -slips,the greater will be the gripping action. The gripping faces of the slips are" serrated as usual, and? their.- upward movement is. limitedaby screws-22 extending into the upper "ends of the slots 21. I a I The jaw' memberofithe tool consists of i a short solid cylindrical?body 23 haVi-ng depending from its bottom the resilient -shank 24 of a pair of jaws: 25,-thesepartsbeing, i Q

all integral. The ja'Ws-25' are diametrically opposite, and their inner faces are' serrated to obtain a good grip onthe object tOjb', heldi It will'also benotedthatithe 'jaws, i

at the back, have a slight outward bevel, as

shown at'-26,"up to a point short" of their extremities, and then aninward bevel 27 to their' extremities. This gives the, jaws a} taper toward their extremities which is. for

the purposeof-p-reventin rtheni' from catch- 1 ing on'the wall of the we 1; "The jaw shanks 24- have-'a normal spreadingtendency, and when-the tool-is going "down in the well, the

apex of the ridge 28 formed at the backiof i each j aw'by the two oppositely beveled sur faces 26 and 27, is held-lightly pressed against the wall ofthe welli v At the'top of the body'23is a stud 29to' hold a cap 'nut 30 which is of such' external 31 thereon; g v Thejaw-member seats in the bore -15 of the supporting-member l0, and when the tool is open and in position for use, the body diameter that itsba'se projects fromthe'side t of the body to:form a shoulder'or abutment 23 of the jaw member is locatediat the bottom of the supporting member, insidethe. circle or ring of slips 19. The shoulder 31,-

now seats on the shoulder 16, and hence these shoulders limit the downward moveinent' of the jaw-member in the supportingmeme her. The jaw shanks 24; project in spread tool is lowered into the'welh'and when'the The slips 19 firmly lock the jaw-member in the supporting-member to prevent thejaws i'romspreading and thus loosing thelr grip on the object being removed; I 1

'. Thetool is very'eiiicient andreliable in operation, and the shapeof the jaws 25 tends to i orce the object to be removed from the well toward the center thereof, making it more readily sped by. the jaws. 1 shows the jaws open, and the tool ready to go downinto the weil, whereas Fig. 2

shows the jaws closed and in gripping position.- Y,

Figs. a and 5 show slightly modified forms of jaw-members. The jaw-member shown in Fig. tis provided with four jaws, whereas the jaw-member shown-in Fig. 5 has four resilient shanks 32 having their inner faces provided with barbs 33 throughout their entire length.

I claim:

1. A grappling tool comprising a tubular supporting-member, a jaw-member consisting of a body portion seating in the supporting-memberand having resilient jaws adapted toproject from the latter, said jaws having a normal tendency to spread, means for so positioning the jaw-member relative to the supporting-member as to leave the jaws projecting from the latter, said members being free to move relative to each other to bring the supporting-member down over the jaws forclosi'ng thev same, and means for thereafter preventing a return movement of'said members in a direction tending to effect opening of the jaws.

2. A grappling toolcomprising a tubular supporting-member having an internal shoulder and openat one end, a awmember consisting of a body portion seating in the supporting-member, and provided with an abutment at its inner end and with re silient jaws at its outer end, said jaws having a normal tendency to spread and projecting from the open end of thesupporting-member when the shoulder thereof is engaged by the abutmenhsaid members being free to move relative to each other to bring the supporting-member over the jaws for closing the same, and means for thereafter preventing a return movement of said members in a direction tending to effect opening of the jaws.

3. A grappling tool comprising a tubular supporting-member open at one end and having its bore provided with a portion which is tapered in the direction of said open end, a series of slips slidably supported on the wall of said tapered portion of the bore, a,jaw-member seating in the bore of the sup porting-member and having resilient jaws at its outerend, said jaws having a normal tendency to spread and adaptedto project from the open end of the supportingmember, and meansvfor maintaining such relative positions of the supporting and j awe members in which the jaws project .i'roin the former, said members beingalsofr'ee to move relative to each other to bring the: supporting-inember downover the jaws for: closing the same, theraforesaid slips being engageabie with the jaw member for preventing a return movement in a direction tending to permitthe jaws to open.

a. A. grappling tool comprisin g a tubular si ipporting-nicmber having an internal shoulder and open atoneend, the bore 01 said member being provided below the shouh der with a portion having a taper in the direction of the open end, a series of slips slidably supported on the wall of said tapered portion of the bore, and a jaw member consisting of a body portion located in the bore of the ,supporting-member and provided with an abutment at itstupper end adapted to seat onthe aforesaid shoulder, said body portion being provided with resilient jaws at its outer end having a normal tendency to spread, and said jaws projecting from the open end of the supporting-member when theabutment seats on the'shoulder, the supporting and jaw-members being free to move relative to each other to bring the former down over the jaws for closing the same, and the aforesaid slips being engageable. with the jaw-member for preventing a return movement ina direction tending to allow the jaws to open.

In testimony whereof I atlix my si nature.

ROBERT E. six firn. 

